Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Middle School Book Reviews - Spotlight on Graphic Novels!

Each week we will be posting reviews from a rising 6th, 7th, and 8th grader who are participating in our 10 in 10 challenge (read 10 books in 10 weeks) this summer.  Check back regularly to get recommendations from kids like you!

This week's focus is graphic novels:

Robot Dreams by Sara Varon
Reviewed by A.C., a rising 6th grader

This book is about a dog and a robot who are best friends.  They go to the beach together and dog wants robot to go in the water with him.  That's when the trouble starts.  This book has no words so you get to make them up.  Happy reading!


Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Reviewed by K.W., a rising 7th grader

Callie loves theater but can't sing so she decides to join stage crew.  The actors having drama on and off stage makes it crazy! When she meets two brothers, her year takes a turn.  I love this book.  The story was great.  The characters seemed real.  The artwork was fabulous. 5 out of 5.

Level Up by Gene Luen Yang
Reviewed by K.W., a rising 8th grader

I really enjoyed this book.  It was fun and interesting to read from beginning to end! It was funny and had a good lesson in the end.  I would definitely recommend this book to someone!

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Totem Island Sculpture Worshop!



Kids created fanciful 7-foot high totem poles at our Totem Island Sculpture Workshop on Thursday afternoon, July 18th.  Everyone enjoyed this fun, colorful activity that demonstrated how ordinary objects can be recycled into exciting art!  This program was generously sponsored by the Friends of the Wellesley Free Libraries.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Middle School Book Reviews

Each week we will be posting reviews from a rising 6th, 7th, and 8th grader who are participating in our 10 in 10 challenge (read 10 books in 10 weeks) this summer.  Check back regularly to get recommendations from kids like you!




Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney
Reviewed by N.G., a rising 6th grader

I thought that this book was interesting to read. I liked they way that the other described the characters and the illustrations. I will probably like the other books in the series of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.





The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Reviewed by E.M., a rising 7th grader

I really enjoyed The Adoration of Jenna Fox. As I read, I felt like I was a part of the book. The author made it seem as if the reader was in the accident, so they forgot everything and had to go through the same learning process as Jenna. This writing style was interesting and I never wanted to put down the book. Jenna's lack of friends, knowledge, and an understanding for her family add to the book's intensity and interest level. Throughout the book, there were cliffhangers and curveballs. I liked this because I was always engaged and kept avidly reading. I never wanted to miss a part. I definitely want to read the other books in the series and I would recommend this book to friends.



Hattie Ever After by Kirby Lawson
Reviewed by J.H., a rising 8th grader

A pretty good book, took me a while to finish, but overall I liked it and was sad when it ended. I like the way in the book that Hattie stood up for herself and decided what she wanted to do and then achieved that goal. She didn't care about what other people thought, she just went out and did it.
 

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Lego Club continues in a new time slot...

Lego Club will be held each Thursday at 3:30 in the craft room; drop-in for creative fun for ages 5 and up!

Backyard Science!

 
 
Join us the next three Mondays at 3:30 for Backyard Science with Becky!  This program requires pre-registration and is limited to 12 participants each week.  Participants must be entering gardes 3, 4 or 5.  Sign up if you enjoy conducting messy, oozing and exciting experiments!
 
 

Middle school mini-comic from comics workshop!

On July 19th, 15 middle schoolers collaborated with the help of comic artist Marek Bennett to make a mini-comic featuring a sample page from each kid! Pick up your very own copy of the mini-comic in the Quigley Youth Room.

Some photos from the workshop:







 

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Middle School Book Reviews

Each week we will be posting reviews from a rising 6th, 7th, and 8th grader who are participating in our 10 in 10 challenge (read 10 books in 10 weeks) this summer.  Check back regularly to get recommendations from kids like you!


The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
reviewed by V.I., a rising 6th grader:

I really liked this book because I felt as if I were Tom Sawyer myself.  I think Tom is really brave and daring.  I would call this book a two thumbs up and five star book.



Ungifted by Gordon Korman
reviewed by O.M., a rising 7th grader

It was a great book with a great plot.  The characters fit their roles perfectly.  It was full of humor.




Chew on This by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson
reviewed by M.B., a rising 8th grader

This book was really interesting.  You can learn a lot about healthy and unhealthy foods from it. It was cool to hear about how some fast-food chains got their start.  Although it was sometimes disturbing, learning how they make their food is interesting too!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Middle School Book Reviews

Each week we will be posting reviews from a rising 6th, 7th, and 8th grader who are participating in our 10 in 10 challenge (read 10 books in 10 weeks) this summer.  Check back regularly to get recommendations from kids like you!


Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper
reviewed by K.K., a rising 6th grader:

This book is about a girl named Melody who has a disability- she can't talk, walk, or eat. Melody goes to a school with a class for disabled kids. Even though Melody is disabled she has lots of things in her head. I thought this book was very detailed on how Melody felt and how hard she tried to be normal.





The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum
reviewed by S.M., a rising 7th grader

The Wizard of Oz is a classic book. It is about four friends that go on a journey with lots of challenges to try to accomplish a goal for each of them. I think it's a good book about how people can work together. I liked it.





Monster by Walter Dean Myers
reviewed by M.B., a rising 8th grader

I thought it was really cool how this book was written as a play. There were also a few journal entries of the main character which were interesting, and helped you understand his perspective. The story itself was really cool too.